Phillies have murderer’s row of pitching waiting to face them in Houston

While the Philadelphia Phillies didn’t take care of business in Game 1 of their doubleheader against the Washington Nationals Saturday — far from it, really — it would behoove them to have as low of a magic number as possible when they arrive in Houston Monday for what’s slated to be the final series of the regular season.

As Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia noted, Dusty Baker and the Astros will send three of the best pitchers in baseball to the mound during the three-game series against the Phillies:

• Game 1: Lance McCullers — 4-1 with a 2.38 ERA, 3.40 FIP and 0.7 fWAR across 41 2/3 innings
• Game 2: Justin Verlander — 17-4 with a 1.80 ERA, 2.57 FIP and a 5.8 fWAR across 170 innings
• Game 3: Framber Valdez — 16-6 with a 2.89 ERA, 3.15 FIP and a 4.1 fWAR across 196 1/3 innings

Baker, per Chandler Rome of The Houston Chronicle, has said he plans to play regulars against the Phillies “for the integrity of the game.” At 102-55, the Astros have clinched the American League West and will have a bye in the first round of the playoffs. But you don’t want your guys to have too much rest before the ALDS, and Baker probably wouldn’t mind playing spoiler against the Phillies, who chose to hire Joe Girardi over him and Buck Schowalter in October of 2019.

Zack Wheeler is slated to start the final game of the Phillies’ series in Washington on Sunday, although it’s unclear if that game will be able to be played because inclement weather is in the forecast.

How the Phillies — and Milwaukee Brewers — fare Saturday and Sunday will go a long way in determining what the starting rotation looks like for the Phillies Monday-Wednesday in Houston.

The possibility exists that the Phillies will play three games in Houston and then have to make up a game against the Nationals to finish off their regular season slate. That game presumably would be play on Thursday, Oct 6. The three-game Wild Card series would begin on Friday, Oct. 7 and not include any off days.

If the Phillies don’t clinch until the final day or two of the regular season, it would likely leave both their starting pitching and bullpen taxed heading into the first playoff series the franchise has played since 2011.

Of course, the way things have been going, it’s also possible that the Phillies are at home watching the playoffs in a week.

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